Mains adapter and method for its production

Abstract

The iron core ( 2 ) and the windings ( 3, 4 ) of a transformer ( 1 ) are held together by a coil former ( 21 ) which is arranged in an injection mould in such a way that it comes into contact with said mould only with small parts at its surface, whereas the transformer ( 1 ) is a distance away from its walls. A plastic shell ( 22 ) is then moulded on to complete a small and light integral casing ( 7 ) enclosing the transformer all round and in an abutting manner. Joints between the coil former ( 21 ) and the shell ( 22 ) are essentially at the bottom of indentations which separate cooling fins ( 20 ).

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A mains adapter comprising: 
       a transformer having an iron core, a primary winding and a secondary winding;  
       a plurality of primary electrical connections conductively connected to the primary winding of the transformer;  
       a plurality of secondary electrical connections conductively connected to the secondary winding of the transformer; and  
       a plastic casing completely enclosing the transformer in an abutting manner permitting only the primary electrical connections and the secondary electrical connections to extend through the casing.  
     
     
       2. The mains adapter of claim  1 , wherein the casing includes a coil former supporting the iron core, the primary winding, and the secondary winding of the transformer, and a shell covering at least one portion of an outer surface of the transformer. 
     
     
       3. The mains adapter of claim  2 , wherein the outer surface of the casing is formed at least partly by the coil former. 
     
     
       4. The mains adapter of claim  3 , wherein the casing includes a plurality of cooling fins and the coil former forms a portion of the outer surface of the casing that lies partly between the cooling fins. 
     
     
       5. The mains adapter of claim  1 , wherein at least one of the primary electrical connections and at least one of the secondary electrical connections extend away from the same side of the casing. 
     
     
       6. The mains adapter of claim  5 , wherein the primary electrical connections are separated from the secondary electrical connections by a partition. 
     
     
       7. The mains adapter of claim  6 , further comprising a contact pin conductively connected to at least one of the primary electrical connections and extending away from the casing along a direction parallel to a surface of the side from which the at least one primary electrical connection extends. 
     
     
       8. The mains adapter of claim  7 , wherein the casing includes a coil former supporting the iron core, the primary winding, and the secondary winding, and the contact pin is anchored in the coil former. 
     
     
       9. The mains adapter of claim  5 , further comprising a cover supported on a sidewall of the casing to conceal the secondary electrical connections extending through the casing. 
     
     
       10. The mains adapter of claim  9 , wherein the cover has an opposite wall extending parallel to a side surface of a partition and spaced a small distance away from the side surface of the partition so as to overlap with the side surface of the partition. 
     
     
       11. The mains adapter of claim  9 , further comprising at least one electrical circuit conductively connected to at least one of the secondary electrical connections extending through the casing, and a cover supported on a sidewall of the casing to conceal at least one of the secondary electrical connections extending through the casing. 
     
     
       12. The mains adapter of claim  1 , further comprising a cover supported on a sidewall of the casing to conceal the secondary electrical connections extending through the casing. 
     
     
       13. The mains adapter of claim  12 , wherein the cover has an opposite wall extending parallel to a side surface of a partition and spaced a small distance away from the side surface of the partition so as to overlap with the side surface of the partition. 
     
     
       14. The mains adapter of claim  12 , further comprising at least one electrical circuit conductively connected to at least one of the secondary electrical connections extending through the casing, and a cover supported on a sidewall of the casing to conceal the at least one of the secondary connections extending through the casing. 
     
     
       15. The mains adapter of claim  1 , further comprising a first contact element and a second contact element anchored in the casing and extending beyond a surface of the casing. 
     
     
       16. The mains adapter of claim  15 , wherein the contact elements are contact pins extending away from the surface of the casing. 
     
     
       17. The mains adapter of claim  1 , wherein the primary electrical connections are separated from the secondary electrical connections by a partition. 
     
     
       18. The mains adapter of claim  17 , further comprising a contact pin conductively connected to at least one of the primary electrical connections and extending away from the casing along a direction parallel to a surface of the side from which the at least one of the primary electrical connections extends. 
     
     
       19. The mains adapter of claim  1 , further comprising a fuse conductively connected to at least one of the primary electrical connections, a cover concealing the fuse and the at least one primary electrical connection, and a contact pin conductively connected to the fuse and extending away from an outer surface of the casing. 
     
     
       20. The mains adapter of claim  1 , further comprising a circuit conductively connected to at least one of the secondary electrical connections, a cover concealing the circuit, and a transmission cable conductively connected to the circuit and extending away from an outer surface of the cover. 
     
     
       21. The mains adapter of claim  1 , further comprising at least one contact pin conductively connected to at least one of the primary electrical connections and extending along a first direction away from a side of the casing, and a transmission cable conductively connected to the at least one secondary electrical connection and extending away from a side of the cover along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. 
     
     
       22. The mains adapter of claim  1 , wherein at least one contact element is electrically conductively connected to the primary winding via a fuse and one of the primary electrical connections. 
     
     
       23. The mains adapter of claim  1 , wherein at least one of the primary electrical connections includes at least one contact element electrically conductively connected to the primary winding. 
     
     
       24. The mains adapter of claim  1 , further comprising an electrical circuit electrically conductively connected to at least one of the secondary electrical connections. 
     
     
       25. The mains adapter of claim  1 , further comprising a transmission cable electrically conductively connected to the secondary electrical connections. 
     
     
       26. A mains adapter comprising: 
       a transformer having an iron core, a primary winding and a secondary winding;  
       a plurality of primary electrical connections conductively connected to the primary winding of the transformer;  
       a plurality of secondary electrical connections conductively connected to the secondary winding of the transformer;  
       an integral plastic casing completely encapsulating the transformer in an abutting manner permitting only the primary electrical connections and the secondary electrical connections to extend through the casing; and  
       wherein the casing includes a coil former supporting the iron core, the primary winding and the secondary winding of the transformer, and a shell covering at least one portion of an outer surface of the transformer, and the outer surface of the casing is formed at least partly by the coil former.  
     
     
       27. The mains adapter of claim  26 , further comprising a circuit conductively connected to at least one of the secondary electrical connections, a cover concealing the circuit, and a transmission cable conductively connected to the circuit and extending away from an outer surface of the cover. 
     
     
       28. The mains adapter of claim  26 , further comprising at least one contact pin extending from a side of the casing, and wherein at least one of the primary electrical connections extends through a portion of the coil former to conductively connect the contact pin to the primary winding of the transformer. 
     
     
       29. The mains adapter of claim  26 , further comprising at least one contact pin conductively connected to at least one of the primary electrical connections and extending along a first direction away from a side of the casing, and a transmission cable conductively connected to at least one of the secondary electrical connections and extending away from a side of the cover along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. 
     
     
       30. The mains adapter of claim  26 , wherein the casing includes a plurality of cooling fins and the coil former forms a portion of the outer surface of the casing that lies partly between the cooling fins. 
     
     
       31. The mains adapter of claim  26 , further comprising a fuse conductively connected to the at least one of the primary electrical connections, a cover concealing the fuse and the at least one primary electrical connection, and a contact pin conductively connected to the fuse and extending away from an outer surface of the casing. 
     
     
       32. A method for producing a mains adapter comprising the steps of: 
       providing a transformer having an iron core, a primary winding, and a secondary winding;  
       providing a plurality of primary electrical connections conductively connected to the primary winding of the transformer;  
       providing a plurality of secondary electrical connections conductively connected to the secondary winding of the transformer;  
       providing a coil former configured for supporting the iron core, the primary winding and the secondary winding of the transformer;  
       providing an integral shell shaped for covering at least one portion of an outer surface of the transformer;  
       arranging the transformer and the coil former in an injection mould while the coil former supports the iron core, primary winding and secondary winding of the transformer; and  
       moulding the integral shell onto the transformer and the coil former to form an integral plastic casing completely enclosing the transformer in an abutting manner permitting only the primary electrical connections and the secondary electrical connections to extend through the casing.  
     
     
       33. The method of claim  32 , wherein the step of arranging includes the substeps of 
       providing at least one wall of the injection mould to support an outer surface of the coil former while an inner surface of the coil former supports the iron core, primary winding and secondary winding, and  
       spacing the iron core, the primary winding, and the secondary winding of the transformer, with the exception of the primary and secondary electrical connections a distance away from the at least one wall of the injection mould.  
     
     
       34. The method of claim  32 , further comprising the step of holding the transformer and the coil former in the injection mould by fixing retractable retaining parts only to the coil former during the step of moulding the shell onto the transformer and the coil former and the step of retracting the retaining parts after the step of moulding. 
     
     
       35. The method of claim  32 , wherein the step of providing the coil former includes the substep of forming at least one cooling fin base portion and the step of moulding the integral shell includes the substep of forming at least one cooling fin onto the at least one cooling fin base portion. 
     
     
       36. A mains adapter having a transformer which includes an iron core, a primary winding, a secondary winding, comprising: 
       an integral plastic casing completely enclosing the transformer in an abutting manner, so as to permit only contact elements and connections to extend through the casing and connect to the transformer;  
       wherein the connections comprise at least one primary connection and at least one secondary connection separated from the at least one primary connection by a partition, the connections being concealed by a cover having an opposite wall extending parallel to a side surface of the partition and spaced a small distance away from the side surface of the partition so as to overlap with the side surface of the partition.  
     
     
       37. The mains adapter of claim  36 , further comprising at least one electrical circuit concealed by the cover and arranged in the region of the connections extending through the casing. 
     
     
       38. The mains adapter of claim  36 , wherein the contact elements comprise contact pins projecting away from the casing along a direction parallel to a surface of the side from which the connections extend. 
     
     
       39. The mains adapter of claim  38 , wherein the contact pins are anchored in the coil former. 
     
     
       40. A mains adapter comprising: 
       a transformer having an iron core, a primary winding and a secondary winding;  
       a plurality of primary electrical connections conductively connected to the primary winding of the transformer;  
       a plurality of secondary electrical connections conductively connected to the secondary winding of the transformer;  
       an integral plastic casing completely enclosing the transformer in an abutting manner permitting only the primary electrical connections and the secondary electrical connections to extend through the casing;  
       a cover supported on the casing to conceal the secondary electrical connections; and  
       wherein the secondary electrical connections comprise first and second secondary connections each conductively connected to the secondary winding and extending away from the same side of the casing.  
     
     
       41. The mains adapter of claim  40 , further comprising a fuse conductively connected to at least one of the primary electrical connections and concealed by the cover, and a contact pin conductively connected to the fuse and extending away from an outer surface of the casing. 
     
     
       42. The mains adapter of claim  40 , further comprising a circuit conductively connected to at least one of the first and second secondary connections and concealed by the cover, and a transmission cable conductively connected to the circuit and extending away from an outer surface of the cover. 
     
     
       43. The mains adapter of claim  40 , further comprising at least one contact pin conductively connected to at least one of the primary electrical connections and extending along a first direction away from a side of the casing, and a transmission cable conductively connected to at least one of the first and second secondary connections and extending away from a side of the cover along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.